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Question about buying Xbox 360

gadgetgirl85

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
3,807
374
I am thinking about buying an xbox 360 down the track. If I was only going to play the arcade games, would the arcade be enough without a HD?
 
Not really, I'm gonna get it just because I already have a HDD and my 360 red ringed. So go get the 120 or just get a pro that comes with 60 and 20gb is not enough with all the demos I download and I install some games to make the 360 quieter.

ChrisN
 
dukebound85 said:
the arcade version of the 360 does come with a memory card (dont know how large)
Click to expand...
either 256 or 512, if you plan on installing some games to your HDD (average 5 gigs, some a lot larger) to make the drive quiet and plan to download demos 20gb is tooo small.

ChrisN
 
Yea, you're best off getting a HDD model, or if it works out cheaper - ebay a 20gb HDD and get the Arcade model. :)

Just make sure theres no pics on the HDD ;)
 
I'm pretty sure if you buy an arcade now, you can pay $30 to get a 20GB HDD plus 3 months of Live on MS' website.

The memory card just isn't enough for arcade games if you want more than a few, especially the higher end games like Street Fighter or Bionic Commando.
 
if you can afford get the 60gb version and be done with it, you won't have to worry about getting a bad hard drive from ebay.
 
You know, if you get a 360 now, make sure you check for the Jasper revision. These 360s have built-in 256MB memory (instead of a 256MB memory card), and both the CPU and GPU are 65nm chips, meaning they'll run much cooler (and possibly avoid RRODs). Here's how to check for it:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3472&p=2

The Best Buy around my area definitely has the Jasper revision, as I've torn part of the cardboard to check the serials. I've found them to be more prevalent on Arcade stocks than the Pro stocks. I haven't seen Elites with the Jasper revision yet though... :confused:

Oh BTW, now if you get the Arcade unit, and upgrade the HD later, you'll end up spending the same amount of money as you would buying the Pro, since the 60GB starter pack is $100. The only difference is you don't get the two pack-in games, which suck anyway.
 
fiercetiger224 said:
You know, if you get a 360 now, make sure you check for the Jasper revision. These 360s have built-in memory (instead of memory cards), and both the CPU and GPU are 65nm chips, meaning they'll run much cooler (and possibly avoid RRODs). Here's how to check for it:

http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3472&p=2

The Best Buy around my area definitely has the Jasper revision, as I've torn part of the cardboard to check the serials. I've found them to be more prevalent on Arcade stocks than the Pro stocks. I haven't seen Elites with the Jasper revision yet though... :confused:

Oh BTW, now if you get the Arcade unit, and upgrade the HD later, you'll end up spending the same amount of money as you would buying the Pro, since the 60GB starter pack is $100. The only difference is you don't get the two pack-in games, which suck anyway.
Click to expand...

EXCELLENT info thank you
 
bruinsrme said:
EXCELLENT info thank you
Click to expand...

No prob. I've been trying to hunt down these things and finally I found them! I'm just waiting until I hear more from these revisions. But so far, I haven't heard any negativity from it. So I'll pull the plug and get one soon.
 
Just one thing that's worth mentioning: You need a 60 Hz TV in order to play most games. This isn't stated on the box (not that I could see, anyway) and I got stung by it.
 
yeah my original launch day 360 is on the fritz.
My other one is a falcon.
Maybe I willhit BB tomorrow and see if I can find a jasper.

I wonder if PS3 is the same way. I have a launch day ps3 and it runs a little warm and noisy.
 
bruinsrme said:
yeah my original launch day 360 is on the fritz.
My other one is a falcon.
Maybe I willhit BB tomorrow and see if I can find a jasper.

I wonder if PS3 is the same way. I have a launch day ps3 and it runs a little warm and noisy.
Click to expand...

Your PS3 should be fine. :)

Just make sure when you check for the Jaspers, that employee don't see you "ripping" the cardboard when checking for the amp rating. :p
 
fiercetiger224 said:
Oh BTW, now if you get the Arcade unit, and upgrade the HD later, you'll end up spending the same amount of money as you would buying the Pro, since the 60GB starter pack is $100. The only difference is you don't get the two pack-in games, which suck anyway.
Click to expand...

No HD cables come packed in though. Gotta spring the moolah for an HDMI cable or component cables.
 
Do it yourself

I bought an arcade locally because I wanted to make sure it was a Jasper. It is. It was $214 ($14 tax). I probably could have gotten a Jasper tax free and with free shipping from NewEgg but I didn't want to chance it.

Then I bought the 60 GB memory starter pack online through Amazon. $90 and free shipping. So total cost for a DIY xbox 360 Pro was $304 instead of $321. I used the difference to buy Lego Star Wars for the kids at $20 since that's the game they wanted anyway (Lego Indiana Jones with the pro holiday bundle? Really?). So overall I think that I did well. Oh, and the starter pack comes with 3 free months of XBL - nice bonus.

An HDMI cable is cheap and easy to get anywhere online since it doesn't matter who makes it. Read the reviews, a $5 cable has 5 star reviews. I've gotten them from Amazon and NewEgg. One of them was $8 with an $8 rebate. I paid $2 for shipping. I win!
 
I still haven't decided about whether I should buy a second hand from EB and get a year warranty with it. Or I could get an arcade and then I have to get the hdmi cable and harddrive. Or I could get a pro. I'd like to spend at least as possible. Decisions decisions.
 
Doesnt Live require a HDD anyways? I thought the arcade only came with a few arcade games, not that you could buy games from live.
 
viccles said:
I still haven't decided about whether I should buy a second hand from EB and get a year warranty with it. Or I could get an arcade and then I have to get the hdmi cable and harddrive. Or I could get a pro. I'd like to spend at least as possible. Decisions decisions.
Click to expand...

Like we suggested, go out and look for an Arcade with the Jasper revision. Upgrade with the starter pack, and buy a $5 HDMI cable from Newegg, or if you have a Fry's electronics or Microcenter nearby, they usually have OEM HDMI cables anywhere from $5-15 depending on how long the cable is.

This'll be your cheapest solution, and you won't have to worry about the system breaking down. If you get a refurb or used, then you'll definitely have to worry about RROD, and then you'll have to go through MS, shipping, blah blah blah. :p
 
True that. I will try and hunt something down on the weekend. There is a good deal going for a pro at Harvey Norman over here (with Kung Fu Panda and some Indiana Jones game yuck) but I need the HDMI not component cable as I'm already using the slot.
 
Phat Elvis said:
Lego Indiana Jones with the pro holiday bundle? Really?
Click to expand...
Yeah, seriously. And Kung Fu Panda. What the hell were they thinking? I'd almost rather throw the games out.

Not long ago I saw Amazon selling 360s sans the game bundle for a bit cheaper, but they don't seem to be anymore. And their points cards are the same price as you can buy straight from the Marketplace instead of 100 points = $1 like they used to be. :( Besides, if you want a Jasper, have to go hunting in a brick store anyway I suppose. Wish it had come out just a little bit sooner, read about it just after I bought mine.
 
I got the Kung Fu, Indiana bundle. Indiana is great, haven't touched Kung Fu Panda. Love the bigger hard drive and the quiet operation over other 360's. Copy the game I'm currently on to hard drive and loads are quick and easy. Really nice feature. New dash isn't all I was hoping for though...

Paul
 
I often use a 8GB usb drive plugged in, just with music on it (only have a 20GB drive, so don't want to waste any of that on music).

But I've never tried using the 360 with just the USB drive - I wonder if you can actually install games to that and play them off that?
 
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